Researchers Announce They Are Stopping Trial of New Mesothelioma Drug, According to Surviving Mesothelioma

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The makers of anetumab ravtansine say it failed to improve mesothelioma survival better than another drug.

New Mesothelioma Drug Trial Stopped

The outcome of this phase 2 study with anetumab ravtansine in recurrent malignant pleural mesothelioma is disappointing...

(PRWEB)July 27, 2017

One of the three companies involved in the development of an antibody-drug conjugate for recurrent malignant mesothelioma say the drug does not work as well as it was hoped it would. Surviving Mesothelioma has the details. Click here to read the full story.

MorphoSys, one the developers of anetumab ravtansine, said in a statement that the Phase II trial of the antibody-drug conjugate failed to meet its primary endpoint, which was to slow the progression of pleural mesothelioma in previously-treated patients.

"The outcome of this phase 2 study with anetumab ravtansine in recurrent malignant pleural mesothelioma is disappointing, in particular for the patients suffering from this serious and extremely difficult to treat disease", said Dr. Markus Enzelberger, Interim Chief Scientific Officer for MorphoSys.

Antibody-drug conjugates combine a powerful cancer-fighting drug with an antibody that targets a specific protein overproduced by cancer cells. In the case of pleural mesothelioma, the targeted protein was mesothelin.

“We have been following the progression of this drug for some time," says Alex Strauss, Managing Editor for Surviving Mesothelioma. "This is certainly discouraging news for mesothelioma patients and their families since the early trials of this drug suggested that it might have real potential to extend mesothelioma survival.”

For more than a decade, Surviving Mesothelioma has brought readers the most important and ground-breaking news on the causes, diagnosis and treatment of mesothelioma. All Surviving Mesothelioma news is gathered and reported directly from the peer-reviewed medical literature. Written for patients and their loved ones, Surviving Mesothelioma news helps families make more informed decisions.